Disgaea 2 plays like most SRPGs. Battlefields are made out of squares, and you move a character onto a particular square to attack an enemy. New characters can be created and different classes are available to you later in the game. All non-main characters can change their classes, however doing so means they start back at level one. Characters receive spells and abilities depending on their level and character class. One unique part of the Disgaea games is that you also gain abilities as you rank up with the weapons you have equipped. These ranks also give you more abilities.

There are many unique features found in Disgaea 2. One is the chance for you to play a part in politics. There is a senate in the game known as the Dark Assembly. Bills can be presented and they can range from wanting more powerful enemies to getting more expensive stuff in the stores. There is even a bill that can be passed to extort money from the senators. The difficulty of passing the bill lies with what the bill is. For example, most of the senators will be in favor of more expensive things since it means more tax revenue for them. However, most senators are very much against extorting money from them. Not to worry though, you can bribe them with items in your inventory to try and persuade the vote. New to the Dark Assembly are asleep, drunk, and legendary senators. If they are sleeping there is a good chance that they will not vote, which is a good thing if they are against you. If they are for the bill, there are items that can be used to wake them up, not to mention items that can be used to make certain senators fall asleep. Drunk senators are unique, when a bribe is attempted with the senator there is a chance that he or she will not recognize the gift and get angry with you, which makes bribing them very tricky. Legendary senators will show up occasionally, but when they do you want them on your side! Not only will they vote for you, but they can make other senators vote for the bill, beat them up, etc.

The “item world” makes a return from the previous game as well. The item world allows the player to upgrade items or move abilities equipped to one item to other items. This world is also where the player goes to increase the effectiveness of an item, weather it is a weapon, armor or some other one. Once the item world is entered, Adell must either descend ten levels into the world, or use a Mr. Gency’s Exit item. If the exit item is used, Adell can continue where he left off in the item. There are two different ways of completing a level in the item world. First, quite simply, you can kill all the creatures in the level. Secondly, there is a dimensional gate in every stage that leads to the next level. Simply get one of the characters to this gate to go down to the next level. There are also mystery gates inside the item world. If entered, anything from a shop, to the hospital, to a dragon guarding treasure could be on the other side. Be warned, if entered, the floor that was entered from must be repeated. Geo panels play a large part in the item world. These panels are indicated by color. If a square has a color on it, there is a possibility of it also having an effect. For example, a red geo panel may have a “damage 20%” or an invulnerability effect on it. A “damage 20%” indicates that if a character is standing on that panel after the turn is over, he or she will lose 20% of their hit points. An invulnerability panel is pretty obvious, a character standing on this panel cannot be damaged by enemy or friendly attack.

Two new additions to the Disgaea universe are the post office and the Dark Court. The post office is where Adell goes to get subpoenaed to the Dark Court, ruled by little explosive penguins called Prinnies - people who are familiar with the previous game will recognize them. In order to reach the Dark Court, Adell must receive the subpoena and proceed to the item world inside the court document. Once inside, the player must search for a court gate. When the court gate is found, whatever character enters the gate receives a felony, and it doesn’t matter who the subpoena is for. Do not worry, a felony is generally a good thing. It gives characters a boost to the amount of experience recieved and discounts at the item stores.

The game does a fantastic job of combining 2d sprites with a 3d battlefield. The sprites are very colorful and represent the characters well. Most of the spell effects are quick and to the point, unlike certain other games I know (I’m looking at you Square Enix). Even the skill effects look great. Fans of the first game will be happy to know that many of the weapon abilities are back from the first one with a sleeker, updated look. Most of the special attacks from the first game look like they hit harder in the second, and some do.

One of the biggest problems with 3D battlefields in tactical games is the camera angle, and unfortunately this game makes no exception to this rule. The camera is especially annoying in the item world, where the stages are created randomly. However, they have overcome this problem by allowing you to change the camera angle to an almost directly overhead view of the battlefield. If a player is having problems seeing a particular area, a couple presses of a button gets them an eagle eye view of the field. This is still an annoyance, albeit a minor one.

Musically the game is average. There are a few remixed songs from the previous game, and these songs sound good, but most of the rest are just average. The sound effects fit the game well and the Japanese voice acting is top notch. The English voices sound OK, but many will no doubt prefer the original voices. In the previous game, the English voices were the only voice option for battles, but this has been changed for Disgaea 2.

Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories is a SRPG player’s dream. A person could spend hours just wandering around the item worlds leveling up characters and items, or one could just go straight through the game without turning back. Either way the game is just down right fun. Disgaea 2 is a fantastic game for anyone looking for a lengthy play experience, and with multiple endings, a new game plus, and even multiple ways to end the game the replay value is very high. If you are looking for a RPG with the best graphics out there, wait for Final Fantasy XII. If you are looking for a game that packs in the fun without the visual pizzazz, look no further than Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories.